New Delhi: Yellow barricades lined the roads, loudspeakers blared warnings against gatherings, and Delhi Police and CAPF personnel stood guard at every nook and corner of Connaught Place.
Later, police said fewer than 100 people were detained throughout the day, though some accounts put the number at around 150, with those detained taken to designated centres.
A notice outside the park said it would remain closed for two days, warning that entry was prohibited and violators would face legal action. “Delhi currently has 200 CAPF companies, of which around 50 were deployed Friday,” a police source confirmed. “We detained those carrying posters and those who had gathered to protest,” a police officer said. Cops said they could instead facilitate a group of select individuals to carry the Tricolour and sing the national anthem at a suitable location. Clarifying the police’s position, additional CP and Delhi Police PRO Rajeev Ranjan said Friday that no one had contacted the department seeking permission to hold the event at CP or submitted a list of this group of select individuals.
Security was stepped up around Central Park, the proposed focal point of the gathering, with police personnel deployed inside and around its premises. Six thousand to seven thousand police personnel were deployed across New Delhi to maintain law and order. Despite the curbs and notwithstanding the heavy police presence, people carrying the national flag began gathering near Central Park from the afternoon. Police commissioner Anurag Kumar visited several locations in CP with senior officers to review security arrangements. Delhi Police also took to social media to share guidelines on hoisting the Tricolour and educate people on the rules to be followed to honour it.
Police had earlier appealed to protesters and members of the public not to participate in assemblies that violate prohibitory orders and urged people not to disrupt peace and affect business activities.